Space Chimps
Rated G
81 Minutes
Nicole’s Rating: A-

Yes, I went and saw this movie and no you’re not seeing things, I did give this an A- rating. I had my doubts when I went to see this film. I wanted it to be funny, but it was only the in the main theaters for less than 3 weeks. Not a good sign for any film. But in the movies defense, it opened up the same week as The Dark Knight.

The story is set in the near future where NASA sends out a mission rover that is sucked into a wormhole. To see if it is possible for life to survive the wormhole, three chimps are set into space to see what the aftermath would be. Landing on a planet with alien life, the adventures begin to get back home to earth.

This movie was not high quality animation, because it is one of the first from a new animation company, but that did not reflect from the plot. The storyline was not an in-depth, adult humor movie such as Shrek or Cars, it is more on the line for kids, but there is nothing wrong with that. During this film I found myself laughing so hard at some parts, that I missed the next funny lines of the film.

There was only one major issue I had with the film and that is the female chimp, Luna, looked too much like Michael Jackson and that’s all I could think about when I was watching her.

I suggest this film if you’re looking for something to take the family to or if you’re in one of those kiddish moods, you’ll find yourself smiling and reminiscing about a time when NASA actually meant something to the world.

Luna and Michael Jackson
separated at birth?

Best lines
Titan: Are you in alumimum clothes?
Ham III: Yes.
Titan: Are you in a rocket?
Ham III: Yes
Titan: In outer space?
Ham III: Yes.
Titan: Are you David Bowie?
Ham III: Uh... no.
Titan: Then you're an astronaut.

Best and Worst of Summer 2008 Movies

Well Labor has passed and it’s officially the start of Fall Movies, in my opinion, this is the worst time for films as if the production companies are just trying to get these films out there before the holiday season starts and the Oscar contenders get their films out. But as Summer 2008 goes, I believe it was successful and a lot of fun. I had the chance to see most of my choice films; there were 30 on my list and I saw 24 of them. Not a bad season. Maybe I have too much time on my hands.

Here are my overviews, but let me explain how I rate them:

A Rating: A must see! Most likely I have or wanted to see it again at the movie theater

B Rating: A good film. Highly suggested to see it once on the big screen and see it before most people talk about it and spoil it for you.

C Rating: It’s entertaining and fun, but you can wait to see it on DVD in your own home theater.

D Rating: Eh…catch it on TV while doing chores around the house.

F Rating: Just give me your money now and I’ll flush it down the toilet for you.

I also base each movie on its on merits. Most of the time I go into a movie knowing what to expect, so I wouldn’t judge Mama Mia (musical), The Dark Knight (action film) and Zohan (comedy) in the same way. Each are based on how well they entertained and held up in their own category.

The Fall ~ A+

Get Smart ~ A

Iron Man ~ A

Kung Fu Panda ~ A

Hellboy II: The Golden Army ~ A-

Mongol ~ A

The Dark Knight ~ A-

Wall*E ~ A-

Journey to the Center of the Earth - 3D ~ B+

Tropic Thunder ~ B+

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ~ B

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl ~ B

Speed Racer ~ B

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor ~ B

Baby Mama ~ B-

Mama Mia! ~ B-

Swing Vote ~ B-

Hancock ~ C+

The Incredible Hulk ~ C+

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian ~ C

Death Race ~ C

What Happens In Vegas ~ C

Made of Honor ~ D+

You Don’t Mess With the Zohan ~ F


Best (and Worst) of Summer 2008

Best Summer Movie: The Fall – A Princess Bride for the new age.

Worst Movie: You Don’t Mess with the Zohan – If I hear of anyone renting/buying this, I will personally come and destroy the DVD for you.

Best Actor: No surprise here but Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight, but a close 2nd to Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder.

Best Actress: Catinca Untaru as Alexandra in The Fall

Biggest Surprise: Swing Vote

Biggest Disappointment: Hancock

Best Hero: Tony Stark/Iron Man in Iron Man

Best Villain: The Joker in The Dark Knight

Best Animation: Kung Fu Panda

Best Cameo: Tom Cruise in Tropic Thunder

Best Drug-Free Trip: Speed Racer

Best Fight: Temundjin (Genghis Kahn) and his “brother’s” final battle in Mongol

Best Group Show: Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3D

Best Kiss: Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep in Mama Mia!

Best Movie You Probably Didn’t See: The Fall

Best One-Liner: “Yep, you’re in love…have a beer”. From Hellboy II

Best Re-Make: Get Smart

Best Song: I Can’t Smile Without You by Barry Malilow in Hellboy II

Death Race

Death Race
Rated R
90 Minutes
Nicole’s Rating: C

The Running Man for present day brings loud action scenes, senseless violence and many witty lines, but that’s what I was in mood for and it delivered.

*~* WARNING: May Contain Spoilers *~*

Set up in the near future, the economy is totally destroyed, crime rates are at an all time high and the nation’s prison system is set up on private corporations. Jason Statham, another Hollywood hottie I’m a sucker for (I think it’s the accent), plays a man who is set up for murder from a Corporate Prison warden, all for the glory of television and the all mighty dollar. To get his release papers he has to win the death race which is on-road race set up like a video game; picking up armor and ammo on the street by flashing markers and the goal of being the first over the finish line, as well as coming in alive. Jensen (Jason Statham), finds out that most men that are in prison have been set up all for this race and he also find out the true murder of his wife is bringing an uncontrollable rage inside him.

Yeah, this movie didn’t have a truly deep plot, but it was still good for the entertainment that I was wanting at the time. There’s a lot of action, eye-candy for both men and women and fast cars, something that is good for non-thinking, just go out and have a good time night. There are some really great shots and camera angles in the movie, but there are also a lot of fast paced camera movements that can make a motion sickness person extremely ill, but they did it for the purpose of making you feel that you were on the race track with them.

This movie isn’t a bad one watching with a group of friends on weekend, but it’s not needed to see it on the large screen. If you can cope with some gore and harsh language (there’s no sex scenes btw) and you enjoyed Fast and Furious movies, you’ll have a good time watching this.

Swing Vote

Swing Vote

Rated PG-13

120 Minutes

Nicole's Rating: B-

I've never been a fan of Kevin Costner, but this might be the start of me changing my mind...maybe.

Mr. Costner plays a good for nothing, white trash hick who care for nothing but what benefits him and sometime his daughter. He's then having to make the choice of who the next President of the U.S. will be because of a computer glitch. The two candidates then start to bribe for his vote and with the help of hid daughter makes the decision that will change history.

Even though this movie showed the creepiness of politics and the unfortunate lives of some kids having to raise themselves because their parents are incapable, it gave some valuable lessons as well as entertained. Kevin Costner did a fair job playing the main lead, but it was far from phenomenal. I believe you could have put any half talented actor in his place. The memberable characters where that of Kelsey Grammer and Dennis Hooper as the candidates running against each other. You could feel the pressure and anguish that they both have to go through being in Politics and having to deal with the scummy puppet-masters aka the campaign managers.

One thing that I have to say is that it was great to see that this film was shot completely in one location. No studios or green screens, just a small town in New Mexico which the film was based in. You get more of a sense of the actually small time life and it's people.

This is a movie that anyone that has voted, has been involved with the voting process or even bombarded with the new media and politics, can related to. Many good lessons were in this film and a surprise hit with me.

Tropic Thunder

Tropic Thunder
Rated R
107 Minutes
Nicole’s Rating B+

Usually when Hollywood gets a bunch of A-listers in a comedy movie, it turns out to be a disaster (Attack from Mars for example), but this movie pulls it off. I’d say that each A-list actor had equal screen time and no one was trying to outshine another.

This comedy is about a making of a war movie that has a never heard of director filming his first movie and having to deal with some divas of Hollywood. Because of issues on the set the director is forced to put the actors into a real time war zone but tells them that the script will be filmed using a different method, hence the actors become real life soldiers.

For the actors themselves Ben Stiller probably did the most unimpressive job. He plays his typical “not too intelligent, funny faces squeaky voice character he plays in every movie he has ever made, but then, I’ve come to expect this with him. But when I realized that he directed the movie, I was highly impressed with the excellent job that he did with the overall film. Jack Black is another one that you know what you’re going to get in the movie, but that doesn’t make his character lovable and funny. But if there are two actors that shine it is Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Cruise. I know for a fact that if this wasn’t a comedy, these two would have Oscar nominations. Downey played his role so well, I actually forgot that he’s a white guy. As for Mr. Cruise, I didn’t even recognize him until half way through the movie he played his part so well.

The movie was filmed on location in Kauai (my favorite vacation spot) and the aerial shots and cinema-photography was beautiful. But I was truly amazed how huge and extenstive the action sequences there were. Certain moments were so explosive and action packed I forgot that I was watching a comedy.

As for the controversy over the “retard situation” that the media has over-played, all I have to say is this movie is offensive in every way possible and this was one of the more mild circumstances of the film. I don’t know why this was the situation that made the headlines; saying that, you MUST go into this film with an open mind. If you are easily offended about any major controversy such as animal rights, child labor, drug use, gay and lesbian issues…etc., I wouldn’t recommend this. But if you can laugh at about anything that life throws at you and you can take some over done graphic violence (Kill Bill kind of stuff), this one will have you rolling.

The Incredible Hulk

The Incredible Hulk
Rated PG-13
114 Minutes
Nicole’s Rating: C+

I honestly didn’t want to see this film because of the disaster footage from the 2003 film, but it was the only thing that was playing at Dollar Theater that Heather and I didn’t twinge at. I must admit, it was a lot better than I expected.

Even if you didn’t see the previous movie, you get the idea of what happened with Bruce Banner within the opening credits, which is usually a good review for people that have a hard time remembering the previous film…that would be me. I think I tried to purge that catastrophe out of my head honestly. At first I was skeptic to Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, but he pulled it off well. As for the love interest played by Liv Tyler, eh…there were a couple of scenes that felt out of place with her, but overall you can fell the chemistry that she has for her lost love. I personally thought the best main character was William Hurt, the cracking old military general who always wants something bigger and better only to lose everything. But it was the onscreen cameos that enlightened the film with Lou Ferrigno, who played the Hulk in the TV series and Robert Downey Jr. making his 2nd appearance of the summer as Tony Stark. I love that character!

As much as the CGI improved from it’s predecessor, it still could have used more work, but considering that a good portion of the film was CGI, they get by with it. With the film having so much CGI, I thought that this movie may have done a better job as a 3D film or even fully animated. And my biggest beef with Marvel and their special effect department is that they need someone that is in charge of getting ratio and portions correct. It seems like that with each scene, the Hulk was different sizes; no consistency. The cinema-photography and art direction was great. There were only a couple of shots that could have used a bit more background, but there were some angles and scenery placements that turned out almost perfect.

This film was entertaining and a fun flick to see with others who enjoy a cheesy action film. If you were disappointed with the first film, I highly suggest seeing this one to get more out of the characters.

Mongol

Mongol
Rated R
126 Minutes
Nicole’s Rating: A

Strangers become friends; Friends become brothers; Brothers become enemies. This is only one of the bases of a film that portrays the greatest conquer to live…Genghis Khan.

*~* WARNING: May Contain Spoilers *~*

The movie starts off with Temudjin (young Genghis Khan) at the age of nine, where he is riding off with his father to choose his future bride. This happy moment is overcome by one of the many battles that he will face in his lifetime. Only nine and he is forced to run away to save himself and his family, finally returning 8 years later, to marry. Only a few days after his betrothal, his enemies the Makita kidnap her in revenge. Much of the story is based on the love he has for his wife, his family and his clan he will go to any lengths for them, even war.

I admit, I don’t know much about Genghis Khan. I thought of him as being a war monger who used women for his pleasures and men for his battles. This movie changes every view I had of him. It shows that he was a man of honor, with values and tried to set up the world to live by them.

This movie had exquisite scenery and cinematography. As for the acting, they all did a great portrayal of life and hard times of the era. The young children did an outstanding job, for most of them this was their first film.

The only issue I had with the film is the “doltishness” of the subtitles. There seemed to be a lot more speaking that what the subtitles showed, but again, I’m not sure how complex or simple the Mongolian and Mandarin languages are, it just felt like it. And if I had another issues with the film, it’s the limited release it had, only showing in 240 movie screens worldwide. This movie could go much farther than that.

This movie was remarkable and I highly suggest it if you can watch the graphic violence of war. This film had a similar feel to Braveheart, so if you enjoyed that, you won’t be disappointed with this one.

Journey to the Center of the Earth - 3D

Journey to the Center of the Earth - 3D
Rated PG
92 Minutes
Nicole’s Rating: B+

I came out of watching this movie with the satisfaction of getting more that I expected. I was pleasantly surprised how much fun it truly was.

Professor Trevor Anderson, a volcanic scientist, has found some clues to his brother Max's disappearance and has his nephew join in this search. Max left some information about volcanic tunnels that he was exploring and they end up in a crazy adventure with extinct creatures and awesome landscapes.

Brendan Fraser plays his typical role of the fun loving hero. I’m not complaining, I love his roles and go to his movies expecting this. Josh Hutcherson played the role of his nephew and did a remarkable job with showing emotions and doing green screen acting. I don’t remember him in any previous roles, but I look forward seeing him make it big. But my favorite character was Hannah, played by Anita Briem. Smart, adventurous and loving, this girl has it all.

If I could add one thing to the film, it would be more background story of Max. You only get a tid-bit of who he was. As for the CGI effects, I can’t complain too much about them, because they were too help with the 3D effect. So whatever cheesy effects there were it worked for the film. Some of the 3D effects where so well done, I was jumping out of my seat. After seeing this in 3D, I can’t imagine seeing it any other way. If you can get me to jump out of my seat more than once, then Hollywood has done something correct.

I had a lot of fun watching this film! Go with a small group of friends, so that you can experience this together.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Rated PG-13
114 Minutes
Nicole’s Rating: B+

Three times the charm with the third installment of The Mummy series.

Set a few years after the last film took place, the O’Connell’s find themselves battling a mummy of a different kind, a resurrected Emperor who has come back to claim the world that once was his.

Brendan Fraser does a great job reprising his role as Rick and his comedic timing is still on. Jet Li, is one of my favorite actors and does a great job playing the Emperor Han, but he probably is only seen around 15 minutes of movie, the rest of the Emperor’s spots are CGI. Probably the worst thing with the acting is the replacement of Rachel Weisz with Maria Bello. It not that Maria did a bad job with her part, it’s just that she had some shoes to fill and it just didn’t feel right. I didn’t feel the chemistry with her as with Rachel. Another thing with the acting I had is the part of Rick O’Connell’s son Alex. I felt he was a bit old for the part. Brendan Fraser and Luke Ford are too close in age to play a father and son bit.

The story was your typical Mummy humor and set up, but there are some surprises. Watching the trailer I thought that the Yetis were a bit much, but watching the movie, they became probably my favorite part of the film. This show did have a lot of CGI effects and many were great but at the end of the film it started to lag, as if the production company ran out of funds and did a quick job, but that did spoil the story line too much.

Overall, if you are a fan of the last Mummy films, you’ll enjoy this one just as much.

What Happens In Vegas

What Happens In Vegas
Rated PG-13
99 Minutes
Nicole’s Rating: C

Even though this movie was your typical predictable chick flick, I still found myself having a good time.

Cameron Diaz and Aston Kutcher play their typical roles; Cameron as the out of love, over worked blonde bombshell and Aston as the good-looking, lazy ladies man. Both come together after a hard night of drinking and find themselves married. Hitting a jackpot, both want the fortune in the annulment, but are force to stay together for 6 months under a court decision.

The stars of the show to me where their best friends though, played by Rob Corddry and Lake Bell. These two played more of the comedic reliefs and had the best scene in the movie, which is the very last 2 minutes. My friend and I were cracking up minutes after the show, because of this scene.

The movie has a quick start. You only get the basics of what these two are like before they head to Vegas. I would have liked just a little bit more background. While in Vegas, there’s not a whole lot that was shot there. Again, I would have liked to see a bit more action in the town that has its name in the title.

Like I said, you can predict yourself what the movie’s outcome is going to be, but it’s still a good movie to watch with friends when you need a good chuckle.

Mama Mia!

Mama Mia!
Rated PG-13
108 Minutes
Nicole’s Rating: B-

This movie was lacking only one major thing and that was vocal auditions. The movie was filled with great actors that most anyone can recognize and that story line was a fun-filled one, but just because you have some great actors, it doesn’t make them great singers.

I knew I’d have fun watching the movie because I enjoy singing along to Abba and I personally love Meryl Streep, but again her singing ability was only sub-par. But she did outshine Pierce Brosnan when it comes to vocal talent. Each time he came on the screen, I wanted myself and the audience to sing louder to cover up the abomination of his singing. Thank goodness he’s good looking to make up for it.

Only a couple other minor items made this movie a little off. First the girl that played Sophie, was suppose to be 20 years old and getting married, but I could help but think she was only 14. She looked way to young for the part. And the other thing is the use of a blue screen backdrop made to look like the ocean. It looks as if most of the film was shot on location, which was gorgeous btw, but some scenes must have been redone in studio. It just took away from the scenery.

Overall, this film was a delight and there are some scenes (especially the last) I was busting up laughing. If you enjoy the music of Abba, you can go wrong with this sing-a-long movie.

The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight
Rated PG-13
152 minutes
Nicole’s Rating: A-

The Dark Knight delivers the best of the Batman franchise, with great effects, great casting and a sinister story line that entertains. I do not recommend taking young children whatsoever to this show. It’s a bit too dark and menacing for the lil’ ones.

The movie overall was great with the cinematography of Gotham and Hong Kong, minus a couple of shots where the camera spins in circles. I have never liked this effect and never will, no matter how good the movie is. It makes me nauseated and I enjoy seeing the background.

The other thing that nauseated me was Maggie Gyllenhaal. She reminds me a dark-haired Kirstin Dunst. Her acting skills lacked, she looked uncomfortable in her roll and I felt no chemistry between her and any of the other characters. But for great acting, it all belongs to Heath Ledger as the Joker. I can not see anyone else playing this part. I can honestly say that his role was Oscar worthy. Christian Bale did a great job as well, but I think he was upstaged by a lot of his counter parts, such as Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.

Only one more thing bothered me through the show, but it still wasn’t bad enough to make me not want to see this movie again. Christian Bale’s voice was irritating when he was in his Batman costume. I know he was trying to disguise his voice, but the whole time I was thinking “You’ve gotta clear your throat before talking”.

This was a great film, one of the best of the year (I still think The Fall is the best), and I can’t wait to see what’s next for the Batman franchise.

Baby Mama

Baby Mama
Rated PG-13
96 Minutes
Nicole’s Rating: B-

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have a great connection on Saturday Night Live, they bring the connection even closer onto the big screen.

Kate (Tina Fey) is a single working woman who is longing to have a child, but can not have one, so she goes to a clinic where they help her with choosing a surrogate mother. Angie (Amy Poehler) turns out to be the surrogate, but she’s nothing like Kate. A white trash woman with a redneck past ends up living with Kate and the usual “Odd Couple” stories take place.

The movie was kind of predictable and you could tell what was going to happen, but you can’t help but laugh at the jokes and physical comedy. There are some lines in the movie that make you laugh so hard it makes your side hurt. I guess the reason why I enjoy this movie so much, is that I can relate to Kate…someone wanting to have a child so bad, but can’t and you almost become immune to the fact that it might never happen.

This movie is good for anyone that understands the value of family, children and the need of unconditional love and for anyone that likes to laugh at one liners.

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
Rated G
101 Minutes
Nicole’s Rating: B

Stepping away from my usual action movies, this movie brought a softer side that still entertained me.

Set back at the start of the depression era, you’re drawn to each character and how they are coping with the hard times. Kit is a young girl with a big dream of becoming a reporter for her local newspaper. Kit sees her neighborhood literally shut down due foreclosures and they all come together to help each other out, unfortunately, not everyone is playing on fair grounds. A string of robberies and assaults have eluded major communities in Ohio and the Hobo community is being blamed for it. Kit uses he investigative ways to find out the truth behind this crime spree.

The veteran actors in this film (Julia Ormond, Stanley Tucci and Joan Cusack) do a wonderful job portraying their characters but the movie belonged to the kid actors. You fall in love with each one of them. Watching this movie, you get a sense of how it was back in the day and maybe how easy we can fall back into a depression time.

My only criticism of the movie is that is has a slow start, but once it starts rolling it’s highly entertaining.

This movie is great for a family night out, probably mostly for the girls and ladies though.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Rated PG-13
110 Minutes
Nicole’s Rating: A

Last night I was lucky enough to get a free pass to see this and I enjoyed it so much, I’d pay to go see it again.

The best way to describe the genre of this film is it is like Lord of the Rings mixed in with Men In Black. And I’m sure I’ll shock many of you when I say that is one of the best movies I’ve seen this summer. Director Guillermo del Toro does a wonderful job with his character creations, art direction and the fight scenes were some of the best I have ever seen. And if you like to laugh, there’s plenty for you. At one point I was laughing so hard, I started to cough. If you have not seen first movie, you’ll still be able to enjoy this movie. With the lag of good sequels lately, I have to say I enjoyed it more than the first one.

The only flaw I could find is some of the CGI effects on the larger creatures could uses a bit of a touch up, but, the effects were amazing to say the least. But probably that best part of the show is at the end when the credits start to roll, the whole audience began to sing along to Barry Manalow. Once you see it, you’ll understand.

Filled with witty humor, fantastic action and some deep emotions, this movie is a must see.

Hancock

Hancock
Rated PG-13
92 Minutes
Nicole’s Rating: C+

I’m a huge sucker for Will Smith so of course I had to be there for the opening night premier. This is your typical Mr. Smith movie, with huge explosions, sarcastic humor and of course him looking good. This movie had some great qualities, but it still lacked a lot of luster.

Mr. Smith did a great job portraying the not so traditional, arrogant, fowl-mouthed super hero that everyone loves to hate. Personally I thought the star of the show was Jason Bateman. He pulled off a great character that brings more of the lighter, fun filled moments of the show. Charlize Theron of course looked beautiful as ever and holds her part very well. The graphics in general were good and the unusual uses of his powers were highly entertaining.

There were some things that bothered me during the film that if they could add or changed would make this the best movie of summer. First all, you don’t get much background history of John Hancock; you get a brief history of his recent past, but I would have like to know more of how he first became a superhero, more of his past relationship with his wife, and even how he first learned about his super powers. Another thing that bugs me is this new trend of super close up shots, especially during the action sequences. I’m one that likes to see scenery and background during the intense parts, but most of the time you’re seeing views of the character from the chest up.

This movie overall is pretty good. I wouldn’t take very young kids to it due to some very colorful language that you may not want them to hear and a couple of scenes may not be what you’d want the lil’ ones to see. Independence Day weekend belongs to Will Smith, so keep the tradition alive and see this flick.

Wall*E

Wall*E
Rated G
103 Minutes
Nicole’s Rating: A-

Each year I look forward to seeing the summer Pixar movie and with a sci-fi factor, so I became giddy just to see this.

*~* Warning: Spoiler Alert *~*

Was this my favorite Pixar movie…no, but it was quite entertaining even though it had limited dialogue. Wall*E is just a loveable character who’s curiosity brings you to fall in love with him almost instantly. Plus, like Toy Story, it shows him playing with objects that I grew up with in the 80’s and 90’s which was nostalgic and delightful to me. Eve, who is the love interest of Wall*e’s who comes to Earth in search of her directive. Once it is found she is put into a status lock until the homing ship comes to get her. During her comatose state, Wall*E is taking care of her which shows you many different sides of his personality. Eve’s personality comes out mostly when they reach the home ship and I’ve gotta admit I love to see a kick-ass girl on the screen even in animation. There are a lot of emotions in this film; I even teared up a bit at one point.

There was a couple of things I had issues with the film and they both fit in with political statements the film indicated, not that it’s totally a bad thing, but it needed to be a bit more limited. First was the statement that the humans in the future are all going to be fat, lazy and uneducated about their history. Next was the “green factor” and how we’re destroying the planet. I think it’s because every time I turn around I smacked in the head with becoming more green and eco-friendly. Both are important to be aware of but I don’t care to be bombarded with it during my “get away from live” time at the movies.

Overall this movie was fun, enchanting and highly recommended for anyone.

Get Smart

Get Smart
Rated PG-13
110 Minutes
Nicole’s Rating: A

When I walked into this film, I was expecting a bad adaptation of another TV series I loved to watch. Boy was I wrong! This movie was one that got the relation from TV to film correct. Steve Corell did Don Adams justice with his portrayal of Maxwell Smart. Ann Hathaway did a good job as Agent 99 and Dwayne Johnson did first-rate work as the strong man to the screen…but I’m a bit bias when it comes to him. He could play a fairy godmother and I enjoy it.

The only think I found that could use a bit of help was that you could figure out who the “bad guy” was fairly early in the show. Too much give away at the start of the show.

This is one of those movies I could watch over and over again. Many great references of the TV show, quirky jokes and some great action scenes. Plus there’s a Chuck Norris joke that I just found hilarious. Two thumbs up!

Kung Fu Panda

Kung Fu Panda
Rated ~ PG
92 Minutes
Nicole’s Rating: A

This movie is jam-packed with awesomeness! A movie that you can take anyone of any age to and each person will find amusement.

The animation was wonderful, especially the backdrops and scenery shots. The trees and sky looked so real, it made you feel as if you could jump into the screen and be in the orient. The story was fun, inspiring and also had some good ol’ fairy tale moral lessons that each person can take with them.

The voice actors did a fantastic job, but the issue I had was the movie did utilize all the voices. I would have liked to have heard more from the other four “Furious Five”: Jackie Chan (Monkey), Lucy Liu (Viper), Seth Rogen (Mantis) and David Cross (Crane). It seemed that most of the voice over work for the group was with Angelina Jolie (Tigress). My only other criticism about the film is that during some of the intense action scenes, I wish they would have panned out a bit more. I felt as if there was something in the background that I should be seeing, but instead I was looking at only the body shot of the characters.

If you go and see the show, you need to stay until the end of the credits. There's a little 2 minute wrap up that is too sweet to pass up.

I highly recommend this movie. This is one of the best animated films out there.

You Don’t Mess With the Zohan

You Don’t Mess With the Zohan

Rated ~ PG-13

113 Minutes

Nicole’s Rating: D-

When I went into this movie, knowing that it was an Adam Sandler comedy, I wasn’t expecting much, but I was expecting a little more that what I got.

Adam Sandler had the same sexual innuendo joke for the majority of the show. The thing is, it was like watching a Jr. High student going through puberty. The cast was his typical group of cronies, but most of them lost their skills of acting (if they had them in the first place that is). I’ve seen better SNL skits where they forgot their line go better than some of the scenes in this movie. The plot was everywhere. Just when you think that you were going to get somewhere, it goes back to some dumb joke about Zohan’s cock or a view of his butt. Just when I thought the movie couldn’t get any worse, they brought in Mariah Carey . If you know me, you know that this is the one celebrity I cannot stand no matter what! Her acting ability is very handicapped. Whoever told her she could act needs to be put down like a rabid dog…along with the person who told her that she looks good in tight clothes that 14 year olds wear.

There was a good storyline that was hardly used, that should have been built upon and that was about the Israelites and the Palestinians living in the same area of NYC and coming together because there are sick of fighting. I would have not kicked myself for spending money on this if this was the main concept of the movie.

There were some funny parts to the movie, but not too many past the trailer. And if you have any kids under the age of 16, I would not take them to see this. It’ll make them and you very uncomfortable. I agree, you shouldn’t mess with the Zohan by NOT watching this crap of a film.